Hopes fade for Aussies after Proteas fire

Clinching the No.1 ranking and a series-winning send-off for Ricky Ponting appears little more than a distant dream for Australia after South Africa breathed fire on day two of the third Test.

With everything on the line, Australia collapsed meekly with the bat and floundered badly with the ball on a disastrous day in Perth.

It was a swift and humiliating turnaround in the match, given Australia had bowled their opponents out for just 225 in the first innings on day one.

South Africa were 2-230 at stumps from 38 overs, with a commanding 292-run lead and Hashim Amla (99 off 84 balls) and Jacques Kallis (17) unbeaten at the crease.

Spearhead Dale Steyn (4-40) starred with the ball before Graeme Smith and Amla took the match from Australia with a thundering 178-run partnership from 153 balls and an incredible 206 runs in the final session.

Wicketkeeper Matt Wade (68), who offered the only resistance in Australia's total of 163, said a win wasn't yet out of reach.

"No, we definitely don't feel like the series is slipping away," Wade said.

"If we can scrap and take these eight wickets we feel we're going to have the best time in the game to bat.

"It's about making Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel bowl a lot of overs and make them keep coming back and coming back.

"That's the only way we're going to win the game.

"It's easy to look at the negatives but we need to look forward and realise we're going to be chasing a reasonably high total but on a really good wicket."

Smith (84 from 100) and Amla scored at nearly seven an over and at one point were on track to post the best run-rate ever recorded in a century-partnership.

It was the third-fastest 150-partnership of all time and Amla nearly brought up the rare feat of having a century in a session.